Becoming a tea drinker.

[Keyser]

Thanks for the helpful thread everyone.

I just got into drinking tea recently and I have a few questions. I use a little electric water heater thing, a french press, and loose tea of course.

Is there any kind of guideline for which teas go best with either lemon, sugar, or cream?

Also, exactly which kind of cream is best? I bought some skim milk because I thought it would be the healthiest, and it seems to taste all right.

 

[Dmax]

Originally Posted by Keyser

Thanks for the helpful thread everyone.

I just got into drinking tea recently and I have a few questions. I use a little electric water heater thing, a french press, and loose tea of course.

Is there any kind of guideline for which teas go best with either lemon, sugar, or cream?

Also, exactly which kind of cream is best? I bought some skim milk because I thought it would be the healthiest, and it seems to taste all right.

My suggestion would be full flavored black teas like Assam and Ceylon to pair with milk, sugar or cream. Just not cream and lemon together

More delicate teas (Darjeelings, oolongs, green, white, etc.) are better experienced on their own.

I prefer regular milk as opposed to skim or fat free for best flavor.

 

[eg1]

You lot have been surprisingly helpful -- just keeping the steeping time down on my green tea has made it much more palatable.

 

[shellshock]

i drink tea every day. mostly black... usually 2-4 cups per day. i like flavored black teas a lot. i hate green.
i always have it with milk unless i'm having herbal tea, although i put honey and a little milk in my chamomile sometimes.

favorites: Apricot
Pomegranate Blueberry

someone buy me this

 

[sweisman]

Another different, but great tea is red tea, or Rooibos. It is also high in antioxidants if that is important to you. On another note to go "off topic" like one of the other gentlemen said, tea, iced and mixed with a shot of smooth vodka is dangerously good!

 

[texas_jack]

Originally Posted by Mandrake9072

Btw, I forgot to mention that the tea I purchased from Whole Foods was this brand:

http://www.rishi-tea.com/

I'm not too fond of the green tea (jasmine variety). The smell isn't very pleasing nor is the taste. The black tea (china breakfast) and white tea, I have been enjoying. I will have to give the jasime green tea more taste, and maybe it'll grow on me.

The robust taste of jasmine goes well with spicey dishes or meat dishes. You might try it like that. I think it would go well with curry mutton as would Earl Grey.

 

[Gekko Style]

Hello... ---> Mandrake9072

Hummm... Tea... What a subject!!! Tea it is a wonderful drink! But there is a problem: you dislike bitter flavoured drinks. The best teas normally have a bitter accent. First of all one must master the taste until we get used to the bitterness (the same happens with wines...). As an everyday tea I recommend Lemon tea (made with real lemon and you should use honey as sweet*). Later, when your taste is balanced, you should move to more elaborated flavours. You have to try a lot to find out your match.

Personally, I love Himalayan tea. Himalayan tea is very tasty and refined.

Free advice: Buy the Michael Graves bird kettle (made by Alessi) and ALWAYS make your tea with high quality mineral water (like Evian or Vichy waters). This way you cannot go wrong...

See you...

S.A.S.F.

*Progressively you should cut on the sweetness to the point you drink it straight ("real" tea should not be "polluted" by any kind of sweet!).

 

[etl]

i'd like to thank everyone in this thread for helping me raise my game. A life-long coffee drinker, i decided to give it up cold turkey about a year and a half ago. It'd been bagged tea since then and fine going. Making the recent switch (thanks to this thread) to a Bodum press and whole leaf teas has made all the difference in the world.

I'm still searching for a good store in New York for teas. Whole Foods downtown has a few but not a great selection. Until then, i may order online at some of the sites mentioned here earlier.

 

[jav]

If you're looing to become a tea drinker, you cant beat tetley or pg tips.

sorry, new to the forum and thought id inject a little northern british humour

 

[jpeirpont]

Recently started drinking a Victorian Earl Grey at the local Coffee house, it is great, anyone know the difference between it and regular Earl Grey? And where I can purchase it? They want $16 for 4oz which a little much for me.

 

[jpeirpont]

Originally Posted by etl

i'd like to thank everyone in this thread for helping me raise my game. A life-long coffee drinker, i decided to give it up cold turkey about a year and a half ago. It'd been bagged tea since then and fine going. Making the recent switch (thanks to this thread) to a Bodum press and whole leaf teas has made all the difference in the world.

I'm still searching for a good store in New York for teas. Whole Foods downtown has a few but not a great selection. Until then, i may order online at some of the sites mentioned here earlier.

Why did you give up coffee?

 

[Philosoph]

I have no idea what Victorian Earl Grey is. I'm sure you could get some great-tasting Earl Grey for a lot less than $16.

 

[Elegantly Defined]

Originally Posted by fatherseanfan

Anything but Lipton.


Haha.. I was just thinking about Lipton's oh so great green tea.

 

[TwentySomthing]

Not sure if anybody posted this link cause i just browsed the thread but I was thought I'd post, what I consider a great source for tea.

http://vitaltleaf.chainreactionweb.c...ain_page=index

Vital Tea Leaf changed my entier perspective on tea, on my last trip out to California (San Fran) I stumbled upon this tea shop. And I ended up staying a couple hours talking tea and sipping on half of the store. I highly recommened going to this place if you are ever in the San Francisco, I think they have 3 locations in the Chinatown area. But you can also get the tea shipped, however if you stop in the store you have the benifit of sipping on tea and learning how to properly drink it with a knowledgable staff, at a sort of tea bar (for FREE

).

Downside is that their teas are expensive compared to subpar bagged teas and other loose teas however most of are exceptional quality and can be reused multiple times a day which helps take some burden of the cost.

A quick note on drink quality teas like the ones they sell. First steep it in boiling water for 30 seconds to a 1 min. and then pour off the entire thing, this will wash the leaves and it will get rid of some of the caffiene, so they say. Also, when you steep it, you only have to steep for about a half min but never more than a couple(with quality tea). And save the leaves, they teas can be reused for multiple times during the day, so at least it helps you save on the cost if you drink a fair amount of tea. Oh and the lychee tea! Fantastic, a great semi sweet tea with a good lychee flavor!! Great for warm weather or for those who don't like more traditional teas. They were out when I was there but they did have some to try and I fell in love.

 

[Roikins]

Originally Posted by TwentySomthing

Not sure if anybody posted this link cause i just browsed the thread but I was thought I'd post, what I consider a great source for tea.

http://vitaltleaf.chainreactionweb.c...ain_page=index

Vital Tea Leaf changed my entier perspective on tea, on my last trip out to California (San Fran) I stumbled upon this tea shop. And I ended up staying a couple hours talking tea and sipping on half of the store. I highly recommened going to this place if you are ever in the San Francisco, I think they have 3 locations in the Chinatown area. But you can also get the tea shipped, however if you stop in the store you have the benifit of sipping on tea and learning how to properly drink it with a knowledgable staff, at a sort of tea bar (for FREE

).

And when Los Angeles, I would suggest trying out Dr. Tea and his Tea Garden.